RIMS president: Risk managers more than just 'the insurance people'

Global risk management society RIMS has a new leader at the helm. The reins of the presidency have been handed over to Gloria Brosius (pictured), a long-standing member of the society and director of risk management and insurance at Pinnacle Agriculture Distribution Inc.

After 22 years with the RIMS and five years volunteering on its global board of directors, Brosius is “excited to lead the global association” and expand her volunteering service in the presidential capacity.

She told Corporate Risk and Insurance: “The expectations for risk professionals around the world have never been greater. Business leaders are turning to their risk management teams to deliver enterprise-wide intelligence and dynamic strategies that support organizational goals. We’re expected to adapt quickly and be proactive in changing environments, while also having great institutional knowledge, global qualifications, top communication skills, and knowledge of all the regulations that might impact our organizations.

“In my capacity as president, I want to ensure RIMS can provide a path to help risk professionals meet and exceed the great expectations that our organizations place upon us. I want to build on the successes of my predecessors and to continue to create opportunities for risk professionals to make brave decisions, both personally and professionally.”

Brosius became a member of RIMS in 1997. She held numerous board positions with the RIMS Rocky Mountain Chapter (Denver), including serving as president from 2005-2006, before joining the society’s global board of directors in 2014. She described the association as “critically important” because of the education, support and networking opportunities it gives risk managers as they face the future.

“The pace of change is increasing around the world. It’s crucial for risk managers to stay on top of the exposures that are out there and how they might impact our organizations,” Brosius commented. “I think risk managers today have to be much more strategic than they were 30-years-ago. We used to be seen as the people who placed insurance to protect the organization. Now, we’re much more involved in the strategy and the enterprise-wide planning that goes on within each organization.”

So, what are some of the emerging exposures challenging risk managers around the world today? Cyber screams as an obvious focus. The past few years have seen a massive spike in data breaches, ransomware attacks and corporate cyber malfunctions as a result of criminal activity. Policymakers around the world are introducing legislation to protect consumers against data breaches, which

means organizations are not only at risk from criminal cyber activity, but they’re also at risk of breaking increasingly stringent cyber rules and regulations.

“There’s a lot of political uncertainty these days too. Most organizations today are global in some aspects of their businesses, and as they enter new markets, they need to be aware of the rules and regulations of the countries they’re expanding into,” Brosius added. “In the past few years, we’ve also had lots of ethical considerations, stemming from the Me Too movement, which has had a direct impact on the directors and officers of organizations. Risk professionals can help with education and training in that respect in order to protect the corporate reputation.

“And of course, we’re all contending with climate change. In recent years, there has been a definite increase in natural disasters, and it’s important for us to be strategically planning for climate change down the road. Topics like cyber risk, political risk, cultural risk and climate change are all of primary concern to risk professionals, and they’re all topics RIMS will be focusing on in its educational capacity through 2019.”

Managing risk on a frequent basis is the primary function of any commercial companies’ risk or safety manager, but you as their agent have a valuable role in leveraging the risk/safety manager to prevent claims. While there is no doubt having an active risk management/safety plan will impact claims frequency, the better risk plan is built in accordance with industry regulations.